It's Finally Christmas
by Kathryn Claire O'Connor
Summary: My interpretation of 1x16 "Girl Meets Home for the Holidays," as seen through the eyes of Maya and Shawn (and Riley, once).
1. Chapter 1

_This may become my best Christmas yet,_ Maya decided, getting off of the bus with a spring her step. She was already smiling and in an unusually optimistic frame of mind as she walked the last of the block between the bus stop and the Matthews' apartment building. _The first_ real _Christmas I've had in a long time, anyway._

The last thought threatened to do damage to the smile on her face, so she pushed away the gloomy fact as she stepped into the apartment building and stomped a few bits of snow off of her boots. The light flurries were probably going to be melted away within a few hours, and within a few seconds – with the help of a practiced mental shove – so was the last of her impending sadness.

 _It's finally Christmas, and I'm spending it with the Matthews, and I have every reason in the world to be happy about that!_

And just like that her smile was back.

* * *

Up in her family's apartment, Riley helped decorate their tree and listened to her parents discussing the fact that it was the first time that they were hosting the holidays. That, she understood, was a big deal, yes, but for Riley, the even bigger deal was the fact that this was Maya's first time spending Christmas with them. And she said so.

"It's Maya's first time with us, and I need the holiday to go good for her."

"Well, I need the holiday to be good for your mother," her father replied.

Topanga whipped around towards him, accusing, "Liar!"

"Liar!" Cory agreed happily. "I need the holiday to be good for Shawn. Shawn's coming!"

Riley shook her head at her parents' antics – and her father's overabundance of love for Uncle Shawn – before she went back to decorating the tree.

The apartment buzzer went off and her father darted over to it, demanding, "Shawn?"

Riley grinned when instead he was told, "Maya."

Yet he tried again. "Shawn?"

And this time he got sarcasm from Riley's best friend. "Aw, what's the matter; your boyfriend's not here yet?"

"He's not my boyfriend!" Cory objected, to which Topanga asked, "Oh, then what are we going to do with this Cory and Shawn '4evah!' ornament?"

"Oh, that? That goes right in front of the Cory and Topanga wedding ornament.

Riley looked at her mother with arched eyebrows and Topanga answered the unasked question with, "My whole life."

 _Yeah. Well, Uncle Shawn's never really even bothered with me for my whole life_ , Riley thought glumly. Yet he was going to be here today… then again, so was Maya!

Even as the thought crossed her mind, the girl herself bounced into the room and Riley found her gloom sliding away. Maya was here! _Yay!_

* * *

Good mood or not today, Maya was a natural skeptic and she'd heard far too many really great things about this "Shawn" with far too few – in fact, no – sightings of him, and so, when she walked into the Matthews' apartment, she headed straight for Mr. Matthews and declared, "I don't even think he exists!"

Actually, she kind of automatically figured that he did, but Matthews was a fun tease, so why not?

"He's real, Maya," Matthews declared, taking the bait. "I've known the guy my whole life and he's real!"

"You're fun to play with," she declared before flouncing past him to Riley and declaring, "Riley, I got you a present."

She held out the homemade card and Riley accepted it, reading, "A donation's been made in your name to the 'Maya New Winter Coat Fund.'" And just like the best friend on the planet that she was, Riley went along with it when Maya turned to show off the coat. "Thank you, it's beautiful."

"I'm glad you like it," Maya declared with a little laugh. "I never know what to get people." Then she changed the subject, deciding to ask the person that she'd trust with her life, knowing without a thought that she'd hear the truth. "So, what's the deal on the mysterious Uncle Shawn?"

"I…" Riley looked past her for a second, her gaze darting downward nervously and setting off warning bells in Maya's head. "Don't see him a lot; I don't think he likes me."

Mr. Matthews broke in before Maya could, crying, "Riley!"

"How could someone not like you?" Maya asked with a broad smile.

Riley shrugged, obviously still nervous about the impending visit with Uncle Shawn. "Ask him and let me know."

 _Mission_ _accepted_ , Maya decided. She would ask this illusive Shawn what was going on, because it very obviously bothered Riley and that just wasn't alright in Maya's book.

But, when Mr. Matthews started talking to the Cory and Shawn ornament – what sort of bowl-cut did Shawn have on his head in that picture?! – Maya couldn't help but wonder what sort of a mess she was going to be getting herself into. Sure, she'd do anything for Riley, but really… what was she about to get started here?

Then Auggie opened the door for his grandparents and Maya was enfolded in a hug between Alan Matthews and Riley, and she couldn't help but smile. It was starting to feel a lot like Christmas.

* * *

Shawn Hunter came out of the elevator in Cory and Topanga's apartment building, automatically noticing that someone had left the apartment's door open. So he would be able to walk right in if he wanted to… He took a deep breath and let the air back out in a "whoosh." That was a scary thought after being so far apart for thirteen years!

And then to come back on Christmas, the day punctuated by good food, great families, and home… all of which were fantastic things, none of which he claimed to have. But it was his first time spending Christmas with his best friend here, and Cory had asked so nicely – almost desperate to see him again, if Shawn was going to be honest with himself – and so here he was.


	2. Chapter 2

Standing at the end of the hallway, yards from the people he'd flown in to see – because, honestly, nothing beat Florida in December… accept for maybe this. These people. The ones that he wanted to see more than he wanted to breathe, which was probably a good thing, since he was having a little trouble remembering to do that at the moment. Whether from excitement or nerves, he couldn't tell, but it didn't matter.

It was finally Christmas and he was finally coming home again. No matter that he'd never been to this particular place often enough to call it home. The people inside of the apartment were what he called his home, and they were in there, and he was going in too.

Ornery instincts kicked in, and he wondered… He walked up and poked his head into the doorway, the rest of him following shortly as he walked quietly into the apartment, shutting the door and pressing a finger to his lips when he noticed that he'd been spotted by Riley and… the girl beside her whose name he didn't know.

Riley nodded, the girl grinned halfheartedly, and Shawn slid onto the couch beside Auggie – man, when had he gotten so big?! – saying loudly, "Gee, Core, I thought you'd be more excited to see me."

"Yay!" Cory shouted, going in for a bear hug that Shawn all too happily returned. Shawn couldn't say that he expected or understood the jubilant "I told you he was real!" that came next, but he didn't care. He was here, he was hugging Cory for the first time in what felt like forever, and it was starting to feel a lot like Christmas.

Eventually Cory and Shawn released their death grip on one another – Shawn actually had to wipe a _happy_ tear from his eye – in time for him to hear a new voice, so it must've been the blonde girl, ask, "So that's us, huh?"

"So I've been told," Riley answered her as Josh stood from the couch.

The seventeen year old gave Shawn a once-over, inquiring, "Hey, Shawn, am I cooler than you yet?"

Such had been toddler Josh's aspiration, and Shawn wasn't necessarily convinced that he'd truly given up on the endeavor, though it had become a running joke between the two of them over the years. Shawn stood too, giving him the same once-over before he replied, "Ah, not yet, but I'm getting nervous."

Then they both grinned and Shawn found himself giving and receiving another hug. It wasn't like a hug from Cory – Cory gave some of the best hugs ever – but still. His earlier nerves seemed silly now as he basked in the feeling of belonging here, being a part of _this_ family. _Why did I ever leave, again?_ He was reminded why when Topanga came to him with a wide smile on her face. _Ah, yes… Core got a priority change._

"Hey, Mrs. Cory," he greeted.

Her grin widened as she replied, "Hey, Mr. Cory."

She gave him a hug and Cory came up to stand between them, a hand on both Shawn's and Topanga's shoulder. "You two. How great is this?! My favorite person in the world… and my wife!"

Shawn cringed, shooting Topanga an apologetic look, and then smirking a little as she turned to Riley and her friend and declared, "My whole life!"

Then Alan Matthews gave him a 'hello' and a hug, and Amy Matthews did the same. It felt nice, it felt homey… it even felt almost like taking a step back in time.

And as quickly as time had receded, when he turned from Amy and Topanga, it came rushing back with the simple words, "Hi, Uncle Shawn."

Like a sucker punch to his subconscious, reminding him of what he could've had once upon a time and didn't, what he may very well never have – reminding him that all of this – the familial closeness, the delicious scents wafting from the kitchen, more hugs than he'd bothered to count – wasn't _really his._ It was Cory's, even the Matthews family's as a whole, but it wasn't _his_ , because later this week, New Year or not, he was going to be in somewhere that wasn't here with people who knew nothing about him and managed to care even less. The places in the world? Yeah, those were cool. But the people – the good people? Those were just flat out rare. And those _people_ were what he missed – what he wanted – more than anything.

* * *

"Yeah, hey kids!" the mysterious Uncle Shawn said with a grin, but before either Riley or Maya could even open their mouths, he was walking around them and walking away.

That wasn't going to work if Maya was going to fix whatever was wrong between him and Riley. Cory Matthews' man-crush must've been worse than she'd thought, because she wasn't seeing in Shawn any of the great things she'd heard from her teacher. So far, she was not impressed.

And so far, Riley just kept right on looking fine everywhere but in her eyes, which looked extremely hurt, and that was not acceptable – not when it came to Riley, and certainly not if it was going to put a dent in Riley's Christmas. No, Maya was going to tell Shawn Hunter what she thought of him one way or the other. But right now, she had Riley to check up on.

"'Yeah, hey kids'?" she repeated flatly, her way of asking if this was par the course for Shawn Hunter.

Riley smiled – once again an expression that didn't reach her eyes – and said, "It's getting better; last time it was just…" and she did one of those dumb macho guy chin up, eyebrow lift things that made Maya want to roll her own eyes. And in this case, give Shawn Hunter a piece of her mind.

"Maybe he's not just a big talker," she suggested…

Just in time for Shawn to say loudly, "Core, time to talk, we got a lot to catch up on!" as the two men headed to the bay window in Mr. and Mrs. Matthews' bedroom.

She scowled as Riley gave her a "see, I told you" face, and looped arms with the brunette to cart her off to her own bay window.


	3. Chapter 3

"Maya, it's fine!" Riley objected as they walked to her room. "I know that you're going to try to get involved, but I'm okay with Uncle Shawn not liking me!"

"You're a bad liar, Riles," Maya declared as they settled onto the window seat. "Now, tell me more about my mission!" Riley narrowed her eyes, adoring but refusing, so Maya skeptically asked a simpler question: "So, that's your dad's me, huh?"

"Uh-huh."

"We're them?"

"Uh-huh."

"I don't see it."

Because, for starters, she would never single out one of Riley's future children to _dislike_ , let alone practically _ignore_!

The thought of it brought on a fresh wave of anger at this stranger who was hurting her best friend, and Maya surged to her feet, declaring sharply, "Come on, I'm gonna fix this!"

"No, you're not!" Riley said almost pleadingly. "I'm supposed to be the fix-it person!"

But Maya was already heading down the hallway and, obviously despite herself, Riley was right behind her.

* * *

"Where do we start?!" Cory questioned as he and Shawn got situated on the bay window.

"Are you asking? Because I do have a question."

Cory nodded easily. "Go ahead."

"Who's the blonde girl?"

"I've told you about her before," Cory declared. "The troublemaker who keeps eating my oatmeal and going on misadventures with my kid."

Shawn realized who he must be talking about, asking skeptically "So, that's Riley's me?"

"Uh-huh."

"They're us?"

"Uh-huh."

He paused, thinking for a second before he declared, "I don't see it."

But before he could consider the idea further, Cory started in on trying to get Shawn to move back to New York City – into the apartment above them no less – and as much as Shawn wanted to think of that as doable, he knew it wasn't. He knew himself, and how being around these old friends overly much would open up every last gaping hole of loneliness that he had. In increments, like today, they could help stave off the loneliness; overexposure just highlighted for him how much he was missing in life, how much he'd almost _always_ been missing. So the answer had to be "no"… even if he _did_ like the idea of being a cop in a world where no one but he or Cory ever talked.

That scenario would, for example, leave them without the trouble that looked to be heading his way. He noticed the girls coming back in the second before one of them was as close as she could get to in his face.

Blondie stepped up in front of him, every inch of her looking determined, hands gripping the sides of her jacket – overconfidence or a nervous gesture, he wondered fleetingly – as she demanded, "I want to talk to you."

The smile he'd been wearing at the end of his and Cory's little musical number slipped as Cory demanded, "Did you not just hear our song?"

Licking his lips and feeling already a little nervous – much as he would like a family, kids _really_ weren't his forte – Shawn turned back to Cory, asking of the girl, "What's that?"

"That's Maya, she thinks she's tough," Cory replied, folding his arms across his chest.

As if to prove his point, Maya ordered Cory, "Scram."

"Okay," Cory quickly replied, taking a seat further away.

Just like that, Shawn was left alone with two tween girls. Yep, definitely not in his comfort zone anymore. And Maya obviously knew that as she sat down on the window seat with Shawn following her lead.

She eyed him skeptically, a harsher version of what Josh had done earlier, and declared with a small smile, "I've heard stories about you. You're great in the stories." And then came even more accessing as she declared succinctly, "I don't see it yet."

 _Geez, what'd I ever do to you! One sentence shouldn't get me this!_

She was kind of amusing, actually, he realized, smiling at her – might as well humor her, she was five foot nothing and skinny as a rail, no danger here even if she did have a sharp tongue – as he prompted, "Okay."

"Riley and I are the best friends on this planet," she informed him proudly.

He clicked his tongue with another smile, saying, "Well, that's cute, 'cause Cory and I –" Hearing his name, Cory slid back onto the window seat beside Shawn. "Are the best friends in all of existence – which includes your little crummy planet." It was a planet that Shawn rather enjoyed travelling, actually, but that was of no matter at the moment anyway. He saw Maya's jaw tick, realized he'd gained the upper hand in… whatever was going on, and continued, "Cory and I finish each other's-"

"Sentences!" Cory broke in loudly, at which Shawn smiled a little smugly.

But Maya looked far from intimidated as she asked, "Yeah? Is that all you do?"

Riley slid into the space behind Maya, declaring, "Because Maya-"

"-And I-" Maya continued the thought.

"-Can read-"

"-Each other's-"

"-Minds!" Riley tapped Maya on the shoulder, asking, "Ready? What am I thinking of? One, two, three."

Both girls declared at the same time, "Pizza! One, two, three. Clouds! One, two, three. Farkle!"

Then they grinned, Riley triumphant and Maya smug, and Shawn leaned away from the look in the latter's eyes. They'd definitely gained the upper hand here, and he knew it even if Cory obviously didn't.

"Yeah, right," Cory said. "Like we can't do that!"

"We can't," Shawn pointed out.

Ignoring him, Cory cried out, "One, two, three. Rainbows!"

"Can't do it!" Shawn answered just as loud. _And why would I ever be thinking of rainbows?!_ The look he shot at Cory admitted defeat, and he turned to Maya admitting, "That's pretty impressive." They should be proud of themselves. He smiled, adding, "You're still not me and Cory."

"Why do you make Riley feel bad?" Maya asked calmly.

The question blindsided Shawn and it took a second for it to register, for the smile to slide off of his face as he shook his head and tried to answer, before he stammered, "I don't mean to."


	4. Chapter 4

"Well, you do," Maya answered evenly. "And that's not cool with me." She reached over and took Riley's hand, bringing a half-smile to the brunette's woeful expression as she added, "'Cause I'm her best friend." She looked him over again as if trying to decide what he was going to do with this new information before finishing, "So, I just wanted to tell you that."

Shawn nodded – that sounded fair enough to him – and then the girls were standing up. He stopped them by saying, "Hey." They turned to look at him, and he looked at Maya while giving both girls the best compliment of which he was capable. "Maybe you are like me and Cory."

Both girls smiled, seeming to realize how much of a compliment that was, and then they walked off with Riley's hand between Maya's shoulder blades.

Shawn turned to Cory, his eyes all at once thoughtful and questioning, but Cory could only shrug at the unasked question. Both of them could barely even comprehend _why_ Riley was upset, just that she was, and that had upset Maya – a sequence of events that Shawn was extremely familiar with.

But then came the question of what to do about it, if anything. Obviously the girls thought that something was wrong; Shawn and Cory both didn't see whatever it was, though, and until something was spelled out to his apparently teen-girl-deficient brain, well, honestly, Shawn was getting a little tired…

He jerked awake later where he and Cory had dropped off to sleep – on the living room couch – with Maya snapping in his ear, "How could you possibly not like Riley?!"

"Maya!" Riley objected from just behind her best friend.

Shawn blinked, looking between Riley and a now awake Cory as he asked blearily, "What is she talking about?"

Riley frowned for a second and then started to talk, and it took Shawn's tired brain a moment to catch up to the fact that she was telling them what Maya had been on his case about. "Whenever you do come here, it's like you find some excuse not to talk to me, and then you leave."

 _That's ridiculous_... _isn't it?_ Before the thought could even really take root, he waved his hand and sat up, replying, "I talk to you; I'm talking to you right now!"

"When's my birthday?" Riley asked with a hopeful smile. "What's my favorite color?"

And all the while, Maya just sat there and watched him, protecting her best friend as well as any five foot nothing teenager could, with a stony expression that said so, so much. Right now it said that she expected him to completely fail Riley's little questionnaire.

"Riley," he tried to get her to understand. "That stuff doesn't matter."

"It does matter;" Maya broke in. "Tell us what you know."

Shawn just sat there for a second, mouth agape with a niggle of irritation starting in the recesses of his mind as he tried to decide what to say, and Cory declared, "Girls, Shawn knows Riley's birthday."

He did know. He remembered it far too well as one of the best – because he was happy for his friends – and worst – because he was leaving them – days of his life, but he wasn't about to tell these two that.

"How do you know?" Riley asked her father with a shrug.

That turned the irritation that Shawn had into something that very much felt like pain. Did Riley really think that he didn't like her? That he didn't know her birthday? Sure, she was still just a kid, and, no, he didn't do well with those, but she was _Cory and Topanga's_ kid, and he did his best to love her and Auggie like the uncle they said he was… even if it did have to be from afar most of the time.

Cory replied firmly, "He knows."

Topanga saved them from further conversation when she called out "Dinner, everybody!" and Shawn hadn't been so grateful for those words in a very long time. He was equally happy when conversation actually drew to a halt over the food, meaning that the meal was over in record time… and that he had a little bit of time to think.

 _Should_ he do something about this situation with Riley and Maya? Because he was really beginning to suspect that Maya just might come after him in his sleep if he didn't find a way to prove himself. Had he ever been _that_ overprotective of Cory?

He was drawn out of his musings when Topanga cried, "Five minutes! That dinner took two days to cook; you animals ate it in five minutes!"

"What's for dessert, Mom?" Riley asked.

"Nothing!" Topanga snapped, pointing her butter knife at Riley. "I want you to sit there for two days and think about that dinner you just devoured and then _maybe_ I'll give you a cupcake!"

Riley nodded, a little of the "whites of her eyes" showing, and Shawn dove into the fray to rescue her, declaring, "Well, I thought it was great, Topanga. Thank you. I don't get a lot of home-cooked meals."

"How's the job going, Shawn?" Cory asked, as people were apparently ready for conversation now that their seemed to be no more food on the way.

"Oh, you do something?" Maya asked him with raised eyebrows.

Yeah, she was definitely not going to let him off the hook easily for his perceived sins. But, really, she was kind of adorable when she was behaving so… so like he would've in this situation at their age.

He chuckled at the sudden realization, grinning as he answered, "Yeah. I write for a site called 'Hit the Road' – go to a lot of different places and tell you if it's worth the weekend."

This apparently caught Maya off guard, because she stammered as she admitted, "I-I go on that site."

He eyed her, pleased to hear it, as he asked, "Restless little spirit, huh?"

"No," she rolled her eyes. "I just think about-"

"-Other places?" he asked with a knowing smile.

 _Is this finishing each other's sentences or reading each other's minds?_

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Sometimes."

He was starting to see where Cory had come up with the "Maya is Riley's Shawn" statement.


	5. Chapter 5

"Yeah," he agreed. _I thought so._

Now he was the one with the upper hand and she was trying to figure him out., obviously pondering him through her narrowed eyes as she repeated, "Yeah." She eased back the slightest bit, saying, "You take the pictures too."

This time he was genuinely impressed. "I do. How'd you guess that?"

"I draw pictures," she admitted.

"Yeah?" he asked curiously.

Her eyebrow twitched. "Yeah."

"I'm gonna say 'yeah' last, okay?" he decided.

She nodded. "Very mature."

"Yeah."

She widened her eyes, mouthing 'yeah', and he leaned forward, ready to say… he wasn't quite sure yet, but Riley broke in, saying firmly, "Okay, that's it. When's my birthday, Uncle Shawn?"

 _This again?_ He rolled his eyes at Cory, who loyally answered for him, "He knows, Riley."

Shawn's irritation was back, only this time it'd obviously leaked over to Riley, who asked her dad, "You keep on saying that. Why won't he answer?" The uncertainty in her eyes got to Shawn as she asked him, "What did I do?"

He blinked, staring at her for a long moment as he considered his options here. So long as he was the one who had done something wrong by her… that he could handle. But he didn't want Riley thinking that he didn't care, or – _oh, man_ – that she'd _done something_ to cause this. The things that hurt her were all him, and that much she needed to understand.

But that meant that he had some explaining to do.

He couldn't bring himself to do it here, though, to hash it all out in front of Cory, Topanga, and Cory's parents. He threw down his napkin and got up from the table, starting for the apartment door.

Realizing that he wasn't being followed, he turned around and asked his niece, "Are you coming, or what?"

Riley sprang up from the table with a smile and he was unsurprised when Maya was right behind her. Apparently he was making a bid to earn her approval now too.

* * *

When Maya, Riley, and Shawn got in the elevator, he asked, "Is Mrs. Svorski's bakery still open the next block over?"

"Yeah,' Riley replied.

Shawn nodded. "Have you guys been there?"

"All the time," Riley answered. "It's Auggie's favorite place in town – in literally all of New York City."

Again Shawn nodded and muttered, "Mrs. Svorski always was good with kids."

 _And you're not_ , Maya thought, taking stock of the way he shifted nervously on his feet right before he elevator doors opened, the way he wasn't really _looking_ at either of them as they talked – he'd never really looked at Riley, so that she saw. He was dead uncomfortable alone with the two of them, yet he'd willingly put himself in that position… _for Riley._

Maybe the mysterious Uncle Shawn could turn out to be an alright guy after all. Just maybe. She could manage to give him a chance, she supposed… _But just for Riley._

* * *

The walk to the bakery was a tense, silent one as the trio sloshed through the melted remnants of snow. Shawn knew that they were waiting for him to talk, but he wasn't ready to just yet. He needed the time it took to walk to get his thoughts together, and they sensed that, staying mercifully silent until he chose to bring it .

When they got to Svorski's, he suggested, "You two want to order something for dessert here instead of waiting for two days back with Topanga?"

The girls shot him small twin grins and only once all three orders had been placed in front of them, once he realized that they weren't going to do anything more than pick at their pastries until the impending conversation was over with, did he dive right in and say, "December eighth."

The very edge of Maya's mouth ticked and Riley's head snapped up as the brunette asked in surprise, "What?"

He nodded. _See, I do to know._ "Your birthday," he said softly.

Maya put her tongue in her cheek, either sensing how many words she was going to have to eat or getting angry before she snapped, "That doesn't save you. I know her birthday, but I don't abandon my friends to hit the road."

Yeah, she was still angry, then.

"Whoa," Riley said.

Already he wasn't even startled by Maya's mouth anymore. What did that say about either one of them? "You think that's fair?" he asked her with a calm smile, because, really, she _could_ learn to watch what she said a little better… or was he just the type of person to bring this out in her?

"I do," she answered, and the challenge was back in her eyes.

 _Your mistake, little girl._ "Then this is fair too." He sat back in his seat, firing off, "What time was she born? How much did she weigh? How tall was she?"

Riley and Maya looked at one another, once again speaking in tandem as they said, "Uh-oh."

"Six in the morning, seven pounds and four ounces, and twenty-one inches." He nodded, because _now_ they believed that he knew all of these things that Riley had so needed confirmation of. "I was there all night." He smiled and Riley did too. "I was the first person to hold you after your parents. You looked like this-" he scrunched up his face and Riley chuckled.

"She still does," Maya remarked, earning her the side eye from her best friend – right before Riley mimicked Shawn's face.

The air seeped back into the space between the three of them as Riley inquired, "Why do you remember it all so well?"

"It was the day I left New York City."

"City wasn't big enough for the both of ya'?" Maya asked disbelievingly.

He rolled his eyes, explaining, "When people get married and have kids, sometimes their old friends who didn't keep up start to feel a little out of place."

Riley winced. " _Please_ don't make me the reason that you don't stick around!"

"No," he was quick to answer that question – his entire point of bringing her and Maya here. "I'm the reason; it's on me. Your parents are the best people I've ever met in my life."


	6. Chapter 6

"Then you should really love Riley," Maya informed him. "Because I love her; I mean, she's exactly like her parents."

Shawn stared, blinked, looked away, and opened his mouth, trying to think of what to say. How come these girls could stump him like this?!

Then Riley got this 'I just figured something out" look in her eye – come to think of it, he'd caught that look on her face a couple of times this evening – and suddenly told me. "He does love me."

Then it was Maya's turn to ask the disbelieving "What?"

Riley flicked her tongue over her lips, taking a split second before she answered, "He loves my parents, and I come from them, so he loves me. He loves me so much that he can't even look at me."

"I'm _right_ here," Shawn pointed out in confusion.

Riley got up from her and Maya's side of the table, sighing as she dropped down onto his side and he scooted over to make room for her. "Look at me."

He tapped the table, feeling uncomfortable with this sudden… whatever Riley was up to. "I'm lookin' at you."

She grabbed his face and turned him towards her, droning, "Look at me!"

Left with very little choice, he did as asked – he looked into her wide dark eyes with the rounded chin, all framed by wavy hair – and he smiled, really _seeing_ her for the first time.

"What?" she asked nervously, drawing her hands away.

 _How did I never see this before?_ "You're Cory with Topanga's hair." She nodded and he added, "You got lucky."

Maya chuckled from across the table, but Riley obviously still had something on her mind, asking him, "Is it okay if I say something scary."

He shifted in his seat, informing her, "I hardly think a thirteen year old girl could say anything that would scare me."

"Every time you see me, does it remind you of what you don't have?"

He swallowed roughly. _Well, I was wrong!_ He looked to the counter, calling out, "Check!" This was not a conversation that he wanted to have! Riley gave Maya an "I got him" look, but, no, they didn't, not if he refused to talk. "We need to be going back to the apartment soon, are you going to finish your pastries or are we leaving now?"

Riley opened her mouth to try and carry on the conversation… but then something miraculous happened. Maya shoved Riley's pastry in front of her and said, "He's right; they're not as good cold. Eat up."

He looked at Maya, "what are you up to?" shining in his eyes, but she merely turned back to her own pastry and started shoveling it in. She had never confused him more.

* * *

 _The poor man looked like he was drowning,_ Maya thought, watching Riley start to eat her pastry. She loved Riley, really she did, but Maya was perhaps more aware than anyone on the planet of just how far over the line Riley was willing to go when she thought she could be a help. Riley could pry like nobody else when she was in the mood – which she clearly was right now – and it was equally clear that she had, in fact, stepped over the line of what Shawn was willing to talk about. So making Riley put food in her mouth right now was definitely a good plan.

And, of course, so was keeping someone talking on the walk home, so long as Riley didn't get the chance to corner someone who would clearly drag her out of her depth – maybe even drag Maya out of her own depth emotionally. She wasn't sure, but she did know that all it took was creating a distraction until they got back to the apartment. Riley seemed perfectly distracted in her own right for some reason, so Maya began to chat with Shawn… which Riley watched very carefully.

At first, that bugged Maya – she knew that it meant Riley was hatching a plan – but Riley actually slipped her mind for a second as she and Shawn started to discuss some of the things that drawing and photography had in common: angles, light, shading, texture. The block-long walk back to the apartment ended up passing quickly in chilly winter air.

As it turned out, Shawn really wasn't so bad after all.

When they got back to the apartment building, what Maya had secretly christened Riley's "plan-gremlin smile" spread across her face. _Oh, no; here it comes._ "Hey, Maya, can you go up to the fire-escape for me; I'll be there soon." She leaned towards Maya and whispered in her ear, "I need you to play guard dog for me. _Please_? This is really important and you _won't_ regret it!" Maya looked at Riley for a long moment until her friend added, "Trust me; I know what I'm doing."

Maya felt an indulgent smile start at the corners of her mouth as she agreed "Okay," and shrugged at Shawn before trotting off. She trusted Riley's schemes most days, and she really didn't think she was going to do anything today to _hurt_ somebody – Riley would never do that on purpose, actually – so Maya would go along with this one and wait to see what happened.

* * *

"Riley, are you interested in photography?" Shawn asked suddenly as they got on the elevator, partly still mentally going over the conversation he'd had with Maya on the way back. She was actually a nice kid, and the more he was around her, the more he definitely saw what Cory saw in her – that she was similar to him… at least, he knew now, in her artistic streak.

Riley shrugged at his question, still too preoccupied with whatever she was thinking about.

"Do you… have a camera?"

"No." The elevator doors opened and they walked out. As soon as Riley opened the door to the apartment, she pointed in and demanded of him, "Get in there!"

 _Because I was planning on going to your neighbor's instead?_

He did as instructed as Cory said, "Ah, Riley, you do not command a grown man."

"You!" she pointed straight at Cory as Shawn looked between the pair, trying to figure out what was going on _now_.


	7. Chapter 7

"Who, me?" Cory asked, startled.

"Both of you," Riley smiled. "Go to my room."

Shawn was still eyeing Cory, trying to get him to explain something of what was going on, when Cory hissed, "This would never happen on the Cory and Shawn show!"

Shawn shook his head in agreement… but the two of them went up to Riley's room with Riley trailing behind.

"What does she want from us?" Shawn asked Cory once they were sat down.

Cory shrugged. "This is… Riley and Maya's spot."

"They just sit here?"

"For hours! They just sit and pour their hearts out."

Riley breezed in, ordering Shawn, "Tell him how you feel, right now."

Then she was gone, and despite her orders, Cory spoke first. "I missed ya', Shawn!"

"I missed ya' more!"

"I missed you somethin' fierce!"

"Boy," Shawn looked at the bay window around them. "This window's powerful!" Then he had another thought, asking, "Wait. Wait a minute. She's got you _trapped_ in your own home?"

"Oh, it's not just her," Cory pointed to the door to indicate Riley. "It's all of 'em!"

"You've lost it, pal," Shawn declared, moving to crawl out onto the fire-escape.

"Oh, yeah," Cory scoffed. "Good luck; like that's gonna work."

Shawn's head was barely out the window before Maya was grinning at him and backing him straight back onto the window seat. _Alright then; Riley's got sentries now!_ He nearly crawled into Cory's lap trying to get away from the suddenly intimidating look on the blonde's face. Who had he been kidding earlier? A kid who habitually walked the streets of New York City by herself had to know a few things about how to put people in their place, and the glint in Maya's eye said that she was one of those people.

She smiled prettily at him – _how did that make it even worse?_ – and shut the window as Cory declared, "And, you're back!"

"Hm, yeah," Shawn admitted. "They might be as good as us." Then Riley strutted back in and he stood, saying sharply, torn between being impressed with these two or just _done_ with their antics, "Look, you, I know when I'm being set up; I know when I'm in the middle of somebody's _scheme_."

"Yeah!" Cory backed him up. "We're the king of schemes!" The two men looked at one another and enjoyed a moment of thinking that they might win this before they gave in and just sat back down in the bay window as Cory said, "We were kings!" He glanced around. "Look at us, Shawnie."

"What's the scam, little girl?" Shawn asked desperately.

"Why did you really move out of the city?" Riley asked succinctly before heading towards the door again.

"What?" Shawn asked, suddenly thinking that maybe he understood her motives. "Are you doing this to try and keep me and Cory together? 'Cause we're fine; we don't need this."

"I know that," Riley answered before walking out. "I have my eye on a much bigger prize."

"Core," Shawn said, leaning towards his best friend. "Don't take this the wrong way, but your daughter's a strange little bird."

"Shawn," Cory asked thoughtfully. "Why did you really move out of the city?"

Shawn groaned. He wasn't going to be able to get out of this conversation now, so he might as well just go with it. "You were preoccupied with your wife and your bird!"

Cory scoffed. "I… was not preoccupied!"

 _Oh, yeah?_ "How long have I been away?"

"Three weeks," he answered confidently.

" _Thirteen years_. Cory… life changed when you had the kids. I don't know how to be the 'cool uncle'."

Josh barged in with Auggie in the traditional place on his shoulders and said, "Oh, well, we interrupt Two Grown Men in a Girl's Bedroom Window for this special announcement."

"Mom says to come down to open presents," Auggie declared.

Josh said, "We now return to Two Grown Men in a Girl's Bedroom Window." He sang out," They're two grown men in a girl's bedroom window, and nobody thinks that's weird!" and then added, "Ah, _wink_."

"I would never watch that show," Auggie informed them solemnly before Josh carried him out.

Cory was obviously trying not to laugh, but Shawn simply managed to feel even more depressed as he gestured to where Josh had stood. "See, cool uncle's already taken."

Before Cory could even answer, a strange redheaded boy opened the window and leaned in, saying, "Ladies!" Shawn scooted over in alarm, but the boy seemed equally surprised, asking, "Oh, excuse me, do I have the right house?"

Shawn sucked in a breath, realizing why the kid's face looked familiar. "Minkus?!"

"Yes."

Cory was laughing as Shawn turned to him, now further alarmed, and asked timidly, "Cory, what's this here?"

Cory kept right on chuckling as he said, "Shawn, this is Farkle Minkus."

 _Minkus has a kid?!_ "Get outta here!"

Farkle – _really? Nobody but, well, Minkus would name a kid that!_ – nodded proudly, declaring, "I'm Stuart Minkus' son."

"Minkus reproduced?" Shawn double checked the particulars with Cory.

"Yeah," Cory laughed with a shrug. "What do you think; he was cloned in a lab or somethin'?"

Shawn just stared at Cory, still feeling a little shocked at the whole idea of Minkus having _any_ sort of children before he said, "Look at him!" _Because I really wouldn't put cloning past Minkus' brain._

So they looked, and Farkle smiled at them, and Cory said "huh" before inquiring, "Farkle, have you ever actually seen your birth certificate?"

Farkle thought for a second before murmuring, "Huh." He looked back up at Shawn and Cory, declaring, "If you'll excuse me, I have some questions I need to take care of."

The boy left with a haunted, thoughtful look in his eye, and Shawn saw Maya snickering at the three of them in a corner of the fire-escape as he left.

 _What sort of a Twilight Zone is this place?_ Shawn thought, turning back to Cory to remark, "Wow, even Minkus!" Cory just grinned, settling in for what they both sensed was a longer conversation and Shawn raked up the courage to ask, "Hey, Core?"


	8. Chapter 8

"Yeah?" Cory replied.

Shawn looked towards Cory but not at him – he hadn't realized until tonight that he'd perfected that move with Riley – as he asked, "What's it like to have children?"

Cory answered gently, "Shawn, my life began when I had Riley."

"Huh," Shawn realized. "Riley's right. I moved out of the city because every time I came here, it reminded me of what I didn't have."

He took a deep breath to steady himself as Cory suggested sincerely, "Shawn, find someone, begin your life."

The words had barely left his mouth before Riley was back, this time hauling Cory to his feet as she declared, "Thank you; you have served your purpose."

She pushed him out of the way in the midst of his objections and half-dragged Maya in through the window as the blonde demanded, "Wait, what are you doing?"

Shawn looked between the two girls, suddenly realizing that they'd come to a part of the scheme that even Maya had no idea about as Riley ordered Maya, "Ask him about his parents."

Shawn and Maya shot one another confused looks as Riley walked over to her dad with a smile on her face and Cory asked his daughter only, "Riley?"

"Look at them," Riley answered evenly. "They're us."

 _What "they" are is confused!_ Shawn thought, glancing between Riley and Maya.

"Come here," Cory said to Riley, and when she approached him, he asked, "Was this your idea?"

She nodded. "What do ya' think?"

"I think you are the new king," Cory declared proudly, laying a hand on her shoulder.

Riley hugged him. "Yeah, well, I did learn from the best."

The duo went to leave, and Shawn called out, "Ah, Cory, what's going on?"

"Riley, what are you trying to do here?" Maya demanded, looking as near to panicked as Shawn felt.

Cory said with a calm confidence in Shawn that did nothing to actually _help_ Shawn, "You got this, buddy," and Riley echoed the sentiment as she informed Maya with a caring smile, "You got this, buddy."

Then they were gone, leaving behind a very confused Shawn and an equally confused but kind of resigned looking Maya. He was starting to get the feeling that schemes like this – kind of like those that he and Cory, but mostly Cory, had come up with during their own childhoods – were still commonplace in the Matthews' family household. Still he wondered, _how did this get from hurt Riley and angry Maya to… my parents?_

Maya raised her eyebrows, wordlessly asking if he had any idea what was going on and he just leaned back in the window seat feeling totally lost.

Maya ran her tongue over her teeth – _yay_ , _she's irritated again_. _Does she just live life irritated?_

"Okay, fine." She asked, seeming to decide that going along with things was the quickest route to freedom. "So, what about your parents?"

Shawn waved a hand, echoing, "Okay, fine." It wasn't like there was much to tell anyway; they hadn't been around enough for that. "Um, my dad was in and out half the time."

"I got half a mom," Maya remarked with a nod.

"Well, my mom took off when I was a kid."

"My dad has another family," Maya answered, her voice getting a touch softer, her gaze faltering for a second with the words that obviously hadn't lost their sting.

Okay, now he really saw the "Maya is Riley's Shawn" comparison that Cory had told him about in the past.

 _Strike number 1,000 against America's fathers._ He shook his head, feeling irritated on her behalf. "I would never let _anybody_ grow up like that."

"You wouldn't?" Maya asked, raising her eyebrows.

"No." Geez, what he wouldn't _give_ to have a family of his own at this point in his life!

"Oh," Maya answered, and there was no one-upping being attempted now, nothing but increasingly raw... _something_ going on in her head as she asked again, as if just to double check that he was telling the truth. "You wouldn't?"

"No." The way that she _looked_ at him then, blue eyes nearly opaque with so much agony and so many broken dreams and hopes – so very much like what he remembered feeling and still felt at times – that he _hurt_ for her, for them both, really… that's when he saw what Riley was out to accomplish. He took a deep breath and looked at his hands, saying quietly, "Oh."

Then they looked back at one another, reassessing what they thought of the other – at least on his part; goodness knew he had no idea what she was thinking about him. The air between them was filled with too many thoughts and not enough words, though he found himself genuinely wanting to say something… to _try_ something for her – to take a crack at whatever Riley wanted them to be, because it was obvious to him that this little girl needed someone. This kid wasn't exactly the same sharp-eyed tough one that she had originally presented herself to be; this was the real Maya, someone who was a heck of a lot more vulnerable… and try though he wanted to, he had no idea what to say or how to help her.

So they simply stared at one another for a minute, searching for the right words without finding them, until she cleared her throat and offered, "Mrs. Matthews still wants us downstairs to open presents."

"Yes!" Shawn said a little too loudly as he sprang up off the window seat. He took a deep breath, repeating, "Presents."

She smiled halfheartedly at him and stood, trailing him silently down the hallway and into the living room.

He wasn't sure what to do about this scheme of Riley's that had unfolded and fallen into his lap, but he wanted to do _something_ for Maya. Now the question that faced him was... what? What were you supposed to do for someone who you'd just met… and didn't really know… who reminded you of yourself?

Maybe he should just wait it out for a little while and see what Riley and Cory came up with for the two of them. He had a feeling that it wouldn't take long for one of them to come up with something.


	9. Chapter 9

Once presents were handed out and opened, Shawn stood from where he'd been sitting on the couch and wandered over to the chair that Riley and Maya were sharing, surrounded by discarded wrapping paper and their gifts – only two of them Maya's.

"If I had known you were coming, I would've gotten you something," Shawn informed Maya in a quiet voice, not meant to be heard, or misinterpreted, by anyone else in the room, as he sat on the back of the chair.

A soft smile flitted across her mouth as she answered, "No, you wouldn't've. Even if you had known I was going to be here, you'd never met me before."

"But I have now," he replied with a smile.

And, funny thing, he felt like even though he hadn't known her long, he understood her. She was Riley's Shawn, and an increasingly growing part of him wanted to be around enough to see how this new "Cory and Shawn" duo turned out.

* * *

Shawn stood up from where he'd been sitting, talking with Riley and Maya, and said, loud enough to be heard by all, "So, listen, I have an assignment next weekend, up in Columbia County. Upstate New York. It's beautiful up there."

"We're gonna miss you, Shawn," Mr. Matthews told him.

"Well, maybe not, 'cause I was thinking…" he looked hopefully at Riley and moved to wrap an arm around her. "Maybe you might want to come?"

"All of us?" Auggie asked hopefully as he moved to hug Shawn's other side.

"I wouldn't have it any other way."

"You know…" Riley started in on Shawn with a gleam in her eye.

"Here it comes," Cory told Topanga.

Mrs. Matthews nodded and Maya saw Shawn half-grin at them both. Maya's heart nearly skipped a beat. He knew what was coming and he didn't mind. He didn't mind at all!

Riley continued, "I never go anywhere without my best friend."

Shawn full-on smiled at Riley as Riley smiled back at Maya, who hesitantly returned the gesture as Topanga remarked, "Yeah, that's not a bad way to grow up."

She looked pointedly to Shawn as Riley continued, "So, maybe you would like to invite Maya?"

Maya looked up at Shawn, careful not to get her hopes up as Shawn glanced at Riley's parents then back down at Riley before seeing who Riley was looking at and joking, "Oh! You mean her." Maya grinned as Shawn finally turned his gaze to her and asked, "Aw, what do you say, kid? Ya' wanna come?"

"Yeah," Maya answered calmly before grinning broadly at Josh and declaring, "You're invited too."

"Oh, boy!" Riley said nervously.

For all that Riley suddenly looked nervous, Maya couldn't remember being so happy in a long time. This moment, Shawn's invitation, made Christmas finally feel like the real "best Christmas yet" that she'd started the day anticipating.

"How about going to Mrs. Svorski's to wrap up the evening?" Topanga suggested, looking around at the others in the room for their thoughts.

"I wish we could," Amy said. "But the three of us really need to get on the road to Philadelphia."

"She's right," Alan agreed.

Josh stood when his parents did, and Maya took a second to pout, which made Shawn laugh beside her as Auggie darted away to hug his "favorite uncle."

"God forbid Eric ever hear him say that," Shawn muttered under his breath with a smile.

"Yeah," Maya scoffed. "It'd bother _only_ _Eric_."

"That's the only other brother that Cory has," Shawn answered easily.

Maya glared darts at him. "I know better. Remember, Riley put me on fire-escape duty? I heard what you and Mr. Matthews said to one another." Seeing the concern flash through his eyes, she added, "But don't worry; your secrets are safe with me, you not-so-restless-spirit."

Shawn blinked, once again uncertain what to do with her, and before he could answer, Amy Matthews called out, "Maya, come give us a hug before we leave!"

She smiled one more time at Shawn and unfolded herself from the chair, happily going to give Josh another hug that he hadn't asked for.

This felt like Christmas and belonging to a family, and she loved it.

* * *

Shawn's second walk to Mrs. Svorki's that evening was much more fun than his first one had been. There was six of them walking in a crowd together, staying close to share warmth and conversation as they went. Cory stayed glued to his right side… and every time he looked her way, Maya was at his left, giggling about who knew what with Riley while Topanga and Auggie chatted behind them about someone named Ava.

Shawn leaned over to Cory and asked, "Did Auggie just say that he has a girlfriend?"

"Uh-huh." Cory said flatly. "Topanga despises her, though, and we've definitely agreed that he's too young."

"Yeah," Shawn teased. "He's got at least, what, six – no, seven – years to wait until he reaches the dating-appropriate age of eleven, right?"

Cory shrugged, taking the throwback with good humor. "So long as I don't have to give up my daughter just yet, I think I'll be alright."

Shawn raised an eyebrow at Riley and Maya as they turned to look at him and Cory, asking them, "Does that mean that you two are interested in a couple of poor, unsuspecting boys?"

Riley giggled and refused to answer, and Maya declared, "Other than the boy on the way back to Philly, I have no man in my life."

Riley rolled her eyes and Shawn knocked his elbow against Maya's shoulder, wanting to say something cocky and teasing but entirely sincere about being there for her himself if she wanted him to be, but he didn't… couldn't. Neither one of them were ready for that from _anyone_ … yet. But something in her eyes told him that she understood what he didn't say as she grinned broadly and darted ahead of him into Svorski's.

Once they were all seated, Shawn handed Riley a camera across the table, declaring, "Riley, this is for you."

"Your camera?" she asked uncertainly.

"I got a few," he answered. "But I figured with Maya being good at drawing pictures, maybe you'd be good at taking them."

"Yeah," Topanga added. "Now you guys can be inspired together."

Cory put his two cents in next with, "Yeah, good old friends should never be apart for too long."

Shawn nodded, looking to Maya as he added, "New friend, either."

She smiled at him and he grinned right back… until she agreed, "Yeah."

"Yeah."

" _Yeah_."

He looked at her for a long moment before nodding and saying, "Okay."

He could let her win this one… after all, he felt like he'd ended up with something far more priceless in the end. Or, maybe, he mused when Maya and Cory leaned into him so that Riley could take a picture, this was just the beginning.

A new beginning that finally felt right.

And that was the best Christmas present he had ever gotten, one so wonderful that he hadn't even thought to ask for it. But it had been given to him anyway. Now he just had to see where it took him.


End file.
